National Security Science Podcast Brenda Fleming, J. Weston Phippen, Whitney Spivey, Los Alamos National Laboratory

This episode topic is deterrence. We'll explore the meaning of deterrence and how the national labs help keep our country safe. We'll also bring you some audio from a deterrence conference that our team attended. To hear more about deterrence and the role Los Alamos plays, check out our latest National Security Science magazine at lanl.gov/magazine. This issue includes feature stories on what deterrence is and how it’s used, weapons effects, and some perspectives from people involved in the air- and sea-based deterrents.
Labcast: Los Alamos National Laboratory is exceeding expectations in radiological and hazardous waste disposal.
Highlights from the Hill: Los Alamos National Laboratory is helping bring indigenous college students into the field of physics.

Energy research is taking center stage at Los Alamos National Laboratory. During a recent panel discussion, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Undersecretary of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Jill Hruby and Charles Oppenheimer, the grandson of the Lab’s first director J. Robert Oppenheimer, visited the Lab and took part in a panel discussion. In this episode, we will listen to excerpts of that panel. Then, we will check in with the Lab’s new climate and clean energy coordinator, Matt Heavner, to hear about some of the ongoing energy work the Lab is doing, and to learn why a laboratory that is known more for weapons research will be pivotal in addressing climate issues. Lastly, we will check in with a team of researchers at the Lab to understand why an organism as small and simple as algae could hold the key to decarbonizing the aviation industry.

As we welcome the holiday season at Los Alamos National Laboratory, we’re taking a look back to the Manhattan Project. If you love Los Alamos history and the holidays–this podcast is for you! We will listen to holiday wartime stories of living on the Pajarito Plateau and under the leadership of J. Robert Oppenheimer, written by Edith Warner and Eleanor Jette, and read by Bradbury Science Museum director Linda Deck and National Security Science magazine writer Jill Gibson.

EPISODE FEATURE
National Security Science J. Weston Phippen reads an article published in 1992 titled, “A reluctant division leader,” by the first Manhattan Project Physics division leader, Robert Wilson. Wilson talks about the early days at Los Alamos.

LABCAST
Ten Los Alamos projects have won innovation awards. The R&D 100 awards are considered the 'Oscars of Invention' and honor the best inventions of the past year.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE HILL
Bradbury Science museum director reads a World War II–era poem by the Women’s Army Corps stationed in Los Alamos.

National Security Science Writer Ian Laird narrates along with a special recording of Oppenheimer from his return to Los Alamos in 1964. He spoke to a packed audience at Los Alamos high school about Niels Bohr. LANL Los Alamos National Laboratory’s National Security Science Research Center releases a 3-part documentary on J Robert Oppenheimer. Scanning electron microscopy explores macaw eggshell remains.

U.S nuclear weapons have played a critical role in preventing conflict among major powers since the end of World War II. Ensuring the safety and reliability of this nuclear deterrent is an essential part of national security. But, how can scientists test and evaluate the U.S. nuclear stockpile in the absence of nuclear testing? In this episode of the National Security Science podcast, we’ll learn all about new experiments to ensure the United States maintains a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear stockpile. It all starts nearly 1,000 feet underground.